When People Talk, Animals Listen

by Wendy Wolfe on January 11, 2012

People often think I only communicate with animals through focused telepathy. Actually, our animals can understand a great deal of what we verbally speak to them…especially when we are congruent. By that I mean that our words match our emotions and our intentions. It isn’t just the words they have learned by association, such as “treat”, “walk”, or “apple”. They are able to understand us because our thoughts have energy and as we speak, the thought that is associated with that verbalization is communicated through energy. If you really want to ramp up their understanding, picture in your mind what you are saying to them. Pictures speak a thousand words to animals.

Red and his house

Just as some people are better at communicating than others, animals have different levels of communication ability. My cat Red, is probably the best communicator I have ever known…well at least with four legs. He is very clear about his needs and he also demonstrates repeatedly that he HEARS me. Let me share a few examples.

Here at Open Heart Ranch there is a large labour of moles. Despite my pleas to move out to the pasture area, they have built their tunnels throughout the yard mounding up dirt and ripping up grass over vast areas. Since they didn’t want to cooperate with my suggestions about a different area for them to live, I enlisted the help of Mr. Red.

Red came to me about five years ago. I first met him when he was just a small kitten at the nearby organic dairy farm when I was buying milk. He wanted to come home with me but I told him we already had three cats and that was plenty. Six months later in the middle of a very cold February, Red showed up with a friend. He has been here ever since.

With Red, all you need to do is ask something out loud as if you were talking to a person and he responds. This first happened when Red decided to bring “treats” to the dogs. There is a small fenced area to let the dogs out for a quick “do your business” run. Red began bringing remains of his catch and leaving them in the dog yard. Sometimes they weren’t even remains but the entire “catch”. Not wanting the dogs to have “raw meat” besides what I was providing, I told Red not to bring them anymore. He stopped. Okay, he did it again about 6 months later but again stopped when asked. I also explained to him that the dogs did get plenty of food every day despite what they might be telling him. ( I think he and Doc have a system going.)

I decided to ask Red to help solve the mole problem. Now I know cats don’t like the taste of moles, they have told me so but Red has always been eager to help. I asked him to reduce the mole population and explained that they were tearing up the lawn. Twenty minutes after I said this to Red, (again, out loud), there was a dead mole lying on the side deck and a proud Red looking up at me. I thanked Red and told him he could put them somewhere else when he was done with them but to continue the good work.

Guardian of the Ranch

Red spent the next few months keeping the mole population down. As the summer came to a close the moles had found a new work ethic and were digging tunnels faster than ever having moved into the vegetable garden. Again, I spoke to Red. “You really need to help with these moles. They are ruining the garden, I need you to get more of them”. Shortly (30 minutes) after I said this to Red, I was down near the barn sitting outside with some friends. I noticed Red where the garden meets the pasture. He appeared to have something. Red began working his way towards me and as he got closer I could see he was “herding” a mole. He continued to herd the mole until he got about 10 feet away from me. As I watched this I was shocked to see the little mole stand on it’s hind legs, bare it’s teeth and lunge towards Red. Red would jump back a bit and then look at me. Then the mole would run a bit with Red in pursuit and the mole would “attack” again. This continued for about 10 minutes. I had no idea moles were so vicious towards a cat. Clearly Red wanted me to know that his skill with the moles was no small feat. He did eventually kill that mole. And while I am not thrilled to see animals die, I felt I had given fair warning to the moles about where they might live. After all, there was another 60 acres for them to choose from.

When the kittens were born this past summer, Red was initially a bit put out by the attention they were getting and that they had invaded his territory. I discussed this with him. Rather than scold him for hissing and spitting at them I decided what I really needed from him was to help protect them. I explained to Red that these kittens were now part of our family and it would be important for him to protect them and watch out for them. Since Lucy died, Red has assumed the role of Guardian of the Ranch. He is a great Watch Cat. Red took to heart what I said, made friends with Mama kitty and plays with the girls. He is still a bit standoffish to Junior but that is to be expected. He never fights with any of them, he only occasionally defends his personal boundaries. After all, he is the top cat.

I know Smokey also hears me quite clearly although he is a bit more apt to reply with “whatever” or “yeah, when I get time” ;-).

Have your animals heard you too? I encourage you to share your stories in the comment section of this blog for others to read. Understanding just how intelligent and soulful our animals friends are opens the door to a more peaceful world.

P.S. I am committed to trying again to convince the moles to move to greener pastures this spring.

I agree that our pets understand most of what we say. With the assistance of our intentions and clear pictures in our mind, I think they learn the language we speak over time. I’m surprised that this idea isn’t accepted in a more mainstream way – even scientists who admit that dogs and cats have demonstrated “intelligence” equivalent to a 3 – 8 year old child, they haven’t really accepted the connection that most 3 – 8 year old kids have learned a great deal of the language around them. I think by the time our pets are older adults, they understand most of what we say, especially if they’re “indoor” pets, who spend most of their time paying attention to the humans.

Have you asked your local garter snakes for help with the moles? They love moles. We had a garter snake who grew quite large on moles and chipmunks that were destroying the lawn. He used to sun himself on our front porch and scare the wits out of my mother. Also, a garter snake will strike more fear into moles than a cat. The snake will sneak up on them when they’re asleep.

Maybe warning the moles that a snake is on the way will incite them to move their mole city.

Charlie has learned to “talk.” He does it several times a day. He’ll throw his head back and howl a teensy bit but it’s very melodic. I always say “and I love you, Charlie.” So, it’s become our way of saying I love you to each other. He’ll sometimes do it to other people and it’s so beautiful. He is similar to me as Red, the cat is for you. Charlie just “gets it” when I speak. I don’t even need to speak; sometimes he’ll just understand a purposeful look – like don’t even think about pooping on the deck! But then, everyone who meets Charlie knows that he is a very special boy.

I first realized my dogs could understand me in the early 70’s. I was sorting papers on my bed, when my dog, Merry, put her paws on the bed and looked at me, asking permission to jump up. Without even thinking I said, “No, Merry, this side is full of papers, go around to the other side of the bed”. She immediately got down and went around to the other side of the bed, jumped up, lay down and prepared for a nap. I was amazed. But I’m not anymore – it happens all the time.

Just before I read your story about Red, Dickie(my 11 year old female kitty) and I were sitting on the bed. I occasionally will pull out my angel cards and play with them. Dickie almost always will come join me on the bed if she see’s me pulling out the angel cards. As I shuffled the cards I kept talking outloud to Dickie and asked Dickie to point to the one card she thought I should pick up. She didn’t do anything right away but I kept talking to her and then in a very deliberate action she took her paw and moved it to a card. I have many more examples but I’m convinced they understand us.

I feel like all my animals are good communicators. I lack the attention to notice it most of the time, but my horse Joey reminded me the other day to pay more attention. I was explaining to him out loud how we couldn’t leave the sight of the other horse, Handsome, or he would become worried about being left alone. Joey and I were really getting into our play and wandered quite a ways from where Handsome was tied. Handsome whinneyed to remind us not to go any further and Joey very deliberately looked over the hill in the other direction and then back to Handsome and then longingly over the hill. I knew he wanted to explore more, go further, but he understood the stress it would cause Handsome if we went any further. I thanked him for his understanding and am now faced with the realization that I have a young, eager explorer on my hands and an older, home body. They are such great communicators! Now what will I do about their wishes?

Handsome is maintaining pretty well right now – meaning his weight is only slightly under what I think it should be. I am slowly switching his diet from too much soy/soy oil to chia seeds with the hopes of some more improvement there. He seems sluggish most days and is still getting rid of a skin fungus he develops every fall. I have ponied him in the past with great success, but I am never completely sure if he feels well enough to do it or if he’s doing his best to please me and overexerting himself (which he has done before). Thanks for checking in with us! Blessings, Diane

Well, I was quite taken with this story, many thanks for sharing it! I first learned that my animal companians were taking my thoughts so literally when I “mentioned” to my aged milk cow as she was crossing the ice covered road to “be careful, the road is slick.” She stopped dead in her tracks and it took a _lot_ of convincing to get her comfortable with moving forward across the road to the barn for milking.

Red is indeed a fine looking fellow. I had a red cat named Murphy that was an awesome “moler”. I got the feeling from him that the reason he did not eat them was because he did not like the texture of the hair coat, mole skin (designed to go both ways in the tunnel) interesting thought! My current feline companion is quite the huntress but does not “do” moles. I learned recently that taking the contents of the litter box, digging a hole into the tunnel and depositing the “gems” is a great (and non toxic depending on your perspective :o) mole deterrent. Have not had the chance to verify that yet.

I have had many interesting experiences “negotiating” contracts with the white footed deer mice that inhabit my 100 year old farm house, unfortunately a fact of life when living in the country. The details are too numerous to recount here but what I have learned from interacting with these critters for many years is that 1) a show of good faith (on the human side) is very helpful, 2) the mice are only, well, mice and do make mistakes (especially the younger ones) clear reminders of the contract are often necessary, 3) being very clear (like with small children) on not only what the parameters of my requests are but also detailed explanations of why I am requesting them and 4) focusing less on my attachments to the way things “should be” and more attention to appreciating the connectedness of all living beings really helped. The mice are exceptional at bringing my awareness to these issues (always a work in progress :o)

Poomba (Husky/German Shepard) would remind me when I would not follow through with my thinking. I would think about taking her for a walk/adventure and she’d hang in the kitchen (nearest room to the door). Then I’d get side tracked and do a chore, one thing leading to another. At some point in my chores she would hang more near me and LOOK – “The walk, remember the walk.” Oh ya, the walk. I’d stop what I was doing and take us on our walk/adventure. This happened enough times that my self-imposed chore list would get shorter going down to zero. She really helped me become more aware of my thoughts and “in the moment” follow through. Blessings to you my dear Poomba . . .
This may fall more in the telepathy line but a fun story to share.
I was on my way to rummage sale in the country. The garage was set behind the house. As I walked up the drive wondering what treasures there would be I clearly heard (in my head) from my left. “What are you doing here?” I turned and looked, seeing a couple of dogs. Can’t remember where I was along the education on communicating with animals, but, I do remember being open to the idea/experience so I went with it reminding myself to release expectation and listen. I went over to the dogs and one was telling me they were confused and wanted to know why these people were coming. What also fascinated me was that his/her body language matched what I was hearing – a kind of curious/pensive stillness. I told them about the sale and that they will see people going up and down their drive all day long. No worries, they were just coming to see and get things. The dog thanked me and we did a little scratching then off I went to the sale. So cool . . .
Want to thank you again too Wendy – for offering the insights from yourself and the animals in these blogs. As well as being helpful I so appreciate how they expand my relationship to all beings.

I saw our cat lurking for a squirrel on our lawn. The squirrel didn´t look afraid, but I knew this cat had killed already many squirrels. I was watching all this through our kitchen window and in my mind I thought: “Squirrel! Go away! Run” several times, but no reaction. Then I thought in my mind how it looks like when our cat kills a squirrel, not a pretty picture. Immediately he hopped on a tree and ran for his life. He was now safe 🙂 I hope he tells the other squirrels too not to be too daring around here.